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Georgia Workers' Comp Rate Calculator

Estimate a Georgia workers' comp premium from payroll, a rate per $100 and your experience mod. Defaults are explained under the rate field.

Regulator
Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation
Market Type
Competitive private market
Rating Organization
NCCI
Class System
NCCI class codes
Step 1 — Your Business
About Your Georgia Business
Step 2 — Experience & Claims
Your Claims History
Total Incurred ($)
# of Claims
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Step 3 — Compare Options
Coverage Options
Your Results
Premium Estimate
Estimated Annual Premium
$0
Payroll/100 × Rate × EMR
YearEstimate
Illustrative Mod Path (3 Years)
Current Path
PEO Path

An estimate, not a quote. How this calculator works.

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Workers' comp in Georgia: what's different

Georgia does not have a state fund. Employers get coverage from private insurers or through approved self-insurance. The State Board of Workers' Compensation (SBWC) hears contested claims and enforces the coverage rule. Pricing is a separate track. NCCI, licensed in Georgia as a rating organization, prepares advisory loss costs and assigned risk rates, and the Office of Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) reviews them.

Who must carry coverage

The trigger in Georgia is three. If you regularly employ three or more people in your Georgia business, you must provide workers' comp. Regular part-time workers count, such as people who work only weekends, and so do seasonal hires you bring on every year.

Some details catch owners off guard:

  • Officers and LLC members count toward the three. In a corporation or LLC, the officers or members are treated as employees, and they stay in the head count even if they exempt themselves.
  • Up to five can opt out. As many as five officers or LLC members may waive their own coverage. Each one signs Form WC-10 and files it with the insurer. A corporation or LLC with 3 to 5 officers or members and no other employees can file a WC-10 for each of them with the Board to comply.
  • Owners of unincorporated firms. Georgia treats a sole proprietor or partner as the employer, the reverse of the corporate rule. Such an owner who wants coverage tells the insurer in writing on Form WC-10.
  • Excluded groups. The SBWC lists railroad carriers, U.S. government agencies, farm laborers, and domestic servants as exceptions. A farm labor employer can still elect coverage by filing Form WC-10.

Contractors carry extra risk. Under O.C.G.A. 34-9-8(a), a principal, intermediate, or subcontractor is liable for an injured worker of a subcontractor to the same extent as the immediate employer. The OCI warns that at audit, your insurer will look for proof that your subcontractors had coverage. Without it, the insurer will charge you for the work they did.

Where coverage comes from

To buy a policy, the SBWC tells employers to contact an agency that represents an insurer licensed to write workers' comp in Georgia. The SBWC licenses about 400 insurance companies that write these policies, plus roughly 300 companies and 100 government entities that self-insure.

Self-insurance is mostly for large employers. You apply to the SBWC with three years of audited financial statements and a nonrefundable $500 fee, and you must be approved as a member of the Georgia Self-Insurers Guaranty Trust Fund. Approved self-insurers post a surety bond or letter of credit of at least $250,000 and buy excess insurance. Group self-insurance funds also operate under the Act and must file Form WC-11 with the Board for each member employer.

Who sets rates

NCCI prepares Georgia's recommended loss costs and assigned risk rates on behalf of insurers, then sends each year's package to the OCI for review and approval. The OCI's Property and Casualty section checks that rates are not excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory, and it also licenses rating bureaus. The SBWC sends questions about rates and premiums to the OCI.

The newest Georgia loss cost table on an official site is the one effective March 1, 2025, which the SBWC posts. NCCI's summary of that filing recommended lowering voluntary loss costs 3.3% and plan rates 3.7%. The next round, filed November 12, 2025 for March 1, 2026, proposes an 8.8% drop for the voluntary market and 9.3% for assigned risk business. As of October 16, 2026, we had not found the OCI's decision or a 2026 class table on the OCI, SBWC, or public NCCI sites, so treat those 2026 figures as proposals.

Experience rating

Georgia uses NCCI's Experience Rating Plan. NCCI's guide to the plan names the few states where it does not apply or where another bureau computes mods, and Georgia is not on either list, so NCCI produces Georgia mods. The plan is mandatory: once your premium clears Georgia's eligibility amount, a mod applies. That dollar figure lives in NCCI's Experience Rating Plan Manual and shifts with the rating effective date. Georgia premium can also reflect a Georgia merit rating, the Georgia three-tier rating program, deductible options, and the drug-free workplace credit.

An employer certified by the SBWC as a drug-free workplace gets a 7.5% premium discount. Certification costs $35, and you must send your insurer a copy of the certificate each year. Starting October 15, 2026, the Board itself administers the program under new Rule 410.

If no insurer will write you

The Georgia Workers' Compensation Assigned Risk Plan covers employers turned down in the regular market, and NCCI administers it. You qualify after four rejections within 75 days, and one must come from your current carrier if you have one. Applications go to NCCI online, by phone at 800-622-4123, or by mail. Coverage can start at 12:01 a.m. the day after NCCI receives a complete, eligible application. A plan employer whose standard premium reaches $250,000 falls under the Loss Sensitive Rating Plan, a mandatory retrospective rating plan.

Penalties for going uninsured

Skipping coverage does not erase the liability: you still owe benefits on compensable injuries, exactly as an insured employer would. If you refuse or willfully neglect to insure, the Board can add attorney's fees, civil penalties, and a 10% increase in the worker's compensation. The civil penalty for failing to provide coverage runs from $500 to $5,000 per occurrence. Willful failure to insure is also a misdemeanor. A conviction can bring a fine of $1,000 to $10,000, up to 12 months in jail, or both. The SBWC's Enforcement Division investigates noncompliance reports.

Your ongoing obligations

  • Post the required notices. Put up the notice stating "This business operates under the Georgia Workers' Compensation Law," the Board's Bill of Rights for injured workers, and your Panel of Physicians (Form WC-P1 or WC-P3). Post your insurer's name too, or your self-insurance certificate.
  • Build a proper panel. A traditional panel needs at least six physicians, including an orthopedic physician and no more than two industrial clinics. The other option is a Board-certified managed care organization. Get it wrong and the worker may be free to pick any doctor.
  • Report injuries fast. Complete Section A of Form WC-1 (Employer's First Report of Injury) the moment you know about an injury, and get it to your insurer. Under Board Rule 61, the insurer completes its section, files the form with the Board, and gives the worker a copy within 21 days of your knowledge of the injury. Workers who wait more than 30 days to report may lose benefits.
  • Keep filings current. Willfully failing to file a required Board form or report carries a civil penalty of $100 to $1,000 per violation.

Worked example: how the calculator estimates premium

Premium = (payroll / 100) x rate per $100 x experience mod

NCCI's advisory loss cost for its roofing code, 5551, is $11.54 per $100 of payroll in the table effective March 1, 2025, the latest Georgia table we found on an official site. That figure covers expected losses only; NCCI's table says advisory loss costs exclude all expense provisions. Carriers turn it into a rate with a multiplier of their choosing, so the 1.35 used here is chosen only for illustration, as are the payroll and mod.

  • Annual payroll (hypothetical): $320,000
  • Code 5551 loss cost: $11.54
  • Loss cost multiplier (illustrative): 1.35
  • Experience mod (hypothetical): 1.10

Step by step

  1. Rate: $11.54 x 1.35 = $15.579 per $100
  2. Payroll in hundreds: $320,000 / 100 = 3,200
  3. Manual premium: 3,200 x $15.579 = $49,852.80
  4. Apply the mod: $49,852.80 x 1.10 = $54,838.08

If the March 1, 2026 filing was approved, policies starting on or after that date use a newer table. The 8.8% is an overall change, so the code 5551 figure may change by a different amount. Ask your agent which table your policy uses.

Frequently asked questions

Is a two-person business covered?

Not under the state threshold, which starts at three regular employees. Part-time and seasonal workers count. In a corporation or LLC, officers and members count too, even if they have opted out.

Is there a Georgia state fund I can buy from?

No. Your options are a licensed private carrier, approved self-insurance, or, after repeated rejections, the assigned risk plan run by NCCI.

How many officers can opt out?

Up to five officers or LLC members, each filing Form WC-10. Opting out does not lower your employee count.

Is there a drug-free workplace discount?

Yes. SBWC certification as a drug-free workplace earns a 7.5% premium discount. To keep getting it, send your insurer a copy of the certificate each year.

Official sources

Sources accessed 2026-10-16.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm details with the Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation.

Reviewer: Sam Newland, CFP, Founder of Benefitra. Last updated October 17, 2026. How the calculator works. Editorial policy.